Elastic waistbands and drawcords are frequently used in athletic apparel such as gym shorts, sweat pants and swim trunks. The elastic waistband provides a fairly snug fit for wearers of different sizes. The drawcord may be pulled snug and tied into a bow to obtain a tighter and more secure fit than is provided by the elastic waistband alone. In order to have enough drawcord to tie a satisfactory bow, the drawcord must be at least several inches longer than the circumference of the elastic waistband when the waistband is stretched to fit around the wearer's waist. Obviously, this requires the length of the drawcord to be considerably greater than the length of the elastic waistband when the waistband is in a relaxed or unstretched condition.
In many garments of this type, the elastic waistband and drawcord are incorporated into the garment in separate steps. The waistband is first sewn into a loop, which is then stretched and placed on a machine that holds the garment. The stretched waistband is then sewn to the garment using sewn seams that run around the circumference of an opening in the garment. A channel is then formed between two of the seams, and the drawcord is inserted into the channel by inserting a flexible wire with a hook into the channel and pulling the drawcord through the channel. This method allows the manufacturer to include a drawcord having any desired length. However, this method is labor intensive and significantly increases production costs.
Several prior art products attempt to simplify the manufacturing process by providing composite waistbands in which the drawcord is combined with the elastic band before the elastic band is sewn into the garment. In many manufacturing plants, the composite waistband is sewn into a loop that is stretched and placed on a machine that holds the garment. After the garment and the composite waistband are sewn together, the garment is removed from the machine. This allows the elastic to contract and return to an unstretched state, which causes the waist of the garment to bunch up.
One type of composite waistband is described in U.S. Patent No. Re. 33,586, entitled "Elastic with Embedded Pull Cord." This patent describes a woven, knitted or braided elastic band in which a pull cord is "embedded." This composite waistband is sewn in a garment as described above. A portion of the drawcord is then pulled through the elastic band and through a slit in the waist of the garment, where the ends of the drawcord are available to be tied into a bow.
Another type of composite waistband is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,266, entitled "Composite Drawcord/Elastic Waistband" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,591, entitled "Knitted Band with Integrated Drawcord and Method of Fabricating Same." Those patents disclose a drawcord that is secured to one side of an elastic band by a yarn that lays over the drawcord to define a tunnel that holds the drawcord to the surface of the elastic band.
Each of the above-discussed prior art composite waistbands simplifies the process of sewing an elastic waistband and drawcord in a garment. However, the amount of drawcord that can be incorporated into those prior art composite waistbands and the degree to which those prior art composite waistbands can be stretched are limited. The above-discussed prior art composite waistbands are typically cut from a "continuous" elongate strip of composite waistband. The elongate strip of composite waistband is constructed so that when the elongate strip is in a stretched or unstretched state, all of the drawcord is maintained generally parallel to the elastic web of the composite waistband. That is, there is no place for substantial amounts of excess drawcord to reside when the composite waistband is in a relaxed or unstretched configuration. This severely limits the length of the drawcord. When the length of the drawcord is limited, the degree to which the composite waistband can be stretched is limited. If the elastic web of a composite waistband is stretched to a length longer than the drawcord, the ends of the drawcord are lost in the elastic web and the composite waistband cannot be used properly. Also, there is no value in increasing the stretchability of the elastic web of a composite waistband when the degree to which the composite waistband can be stretched is limited by the length of the drawcord.
Because the drawcord remains generally parallel to the elastic band in the above-discussed prior art composite waistbands, the length of the drawcord is generally limited to that which can be compressed coaxially (i.e., along the cord's longitudinal axis) to the same length as the elastic band in a relaxed state. Therefore, in most prior art composite waistbands, drawcords that can be readily coaxially compressed are employed in an effort to increase the effective length of the drawcords. However, at least some of such cords can shrink and lose their stretchability when laundered. Further, sometimes the use of a flat, tape-like drawcord (e.g., ribbon) in a composite waistband is desirable, but the axial compressibility of most flat drawcords is very limited.
Another type of composite waistband is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,244, entitled "Elastic Waistband with Releasably Secured Drawstring" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,779, entitled "Method of Making an Elastic Waistband with Releasably Secured Drawstring." These patents describe a drawcord that is affixed to a previously fabricated elastic band by an adhesive. The adhesive holds the drawcord in place on one surface of the elastic band while the band is sewn in a garment. After the garment is sewn, the drawcord is released from the elastic band by pulling on the drawcord. A problem with this approach is that careful handling is required to prevent the drawcord from being detached from the elastic band prior to being sewn in the garment. If the drawcord becomes detached prematurely, the product is useless. Also, having to release numerous drawcords from their respective elastic bands is labor intensive.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a high stretch composite elastic waistband that includes a relatively large ratio of drawcord to the relaxed length of the elastic band.